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I have a question I hope that some of you might can help. I looked through several pages of threads and did not find my answer. Can an artist paint cars, motorcycles, etc without written permission? How about objects such as coke cans or candy bars?

Are you painting them as the main subject? or as part of a larger work such as a still-life or landscape?.
While you have the Campbell Soup art of Andy Warhol, (which Campbell soup couldn't afford to buy) today it could be a different story and you could be hit with a trademark lawsuit. Sadly it all depends on the owners legal team's view.
Using a coke can as part of a still life however, will be safe.

You do not need permission for any of those scenarios. You cannot paint a Coke logo if whatever it's on can be confused for a product endorsed by Coca-Cola, that's all. It's not illegal to paint logos of objects in a painting. Don't believe people who tell you otherwise. Artists who avoid or obscure logos are afraid of being sued, but there's really not an issue. Trademark law is different than copyright, and a trademark is narrowly defined as a mark of a particular product or set of products identifying them as coming from a particular company. A painting of a product cannot be mistaken for a product so you have no worries.